England vs New Zealand 2022
‘The door is open’ – Chennai player on making his return to Test cricket
Moeen Ali has played 64 Tests in his career
England are all set to host New Zealand for a three-match Test series at home. This series shall start on June 2. In the meanwhile, a new era for England’s red-ball side is all set to commence, as they now have a new Test captain. It is to be noted that Ben Stokes was recently named as the new skipper of England’s Test side
Besides, Brendon McCullum was appointed as their new head coach in the longest format of the game as well. Recently, he had asked Moeen Ali if he was willing to play red-ball cricket again. It is to be noted that the English all-rounder had announced his retirement from the longest format of the game last year.
Ali recently spoke about the prospect of returning to Test cricket. After acquiring an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, he revealed that he had a chat with McCullum regarding a comeback in whites. He stated that the “doors are open”. While Ali currently represents the Chennai-based franchise in the Indian T20 League, he and McCullum played together at Bangalore during the 2018 edition.
“Baz (McCullum) messaged me asking if I was ‘in’. We’ve had a chat and maybe in the future, potential tours or whatever, who knows? I have played with him in the Indian Premier League and really enjoyed the way he works. We spoke and he mentioned potentially, in the future, if there is a tour – or whenever, really – would I be available? I said ‘Call me at the time’. We’ll see – if and when he calls me, we’ll chat.
The door is open. It’s always exciting when there is a new chapter and you would like to be a part of it. We had the same after the 2015 World Cup – what role you can play? In the white-ball stuff, it didn’t matter who was in the team or for how long, it was just making a difference for England. We’ll see,” said Moeen Ali, as quoted by Planet Sport.
In the meanwhile, Ali also addressed the rumours pertaining to a rift between him and Joe Root. He clearly stated that the batting maestro was always good to him, and the rumours about a rift between them were false.
“I saw stuff about me not enjoying it under Rooty, but I did. He was always good to me. As an individual, he’s the best I have had. He’s a friend of mine and a great guy. When I retired I just found it hard to get going. I had a few niggles, I was tired, I wasn’t enjoying cricket as much as I should,” he added.
